CAMERA GUIDANCE SYSTEM

Abstract: A camera guidance system uses multiple GPSs distributed on the camera-supporting platform and on the cameras' target, to automatically point the cameras and the antennas conveying video signals to a receiver.

Description: Camera guidance system. The present invention concerns a system according to the preamble of claim 1. In particular, it concerns a help to the acquisition, by a camera, of close-up visual information of a target, said target being a competitor in a race, or a participant in a show. One purpose of sports show business is to give the viewer the impression that he is in the middle of the action. For this purpose, multiple cameras are preferably acquiring close-up, breath-taking images of the leading competitors of the race, or of the star participants of the show. If such leading competitor or star participant is typically too far from the cameras, it is known to place such cameras on the competitor or participant himself, showing him at least partially. The imagery is constantly selected and re-evaluated, taking into account the most interesting views. Shows and racing competitions have implied in a known manner the presence of cameras on or close to the participants or competitors. For example, in bicycle races, cameras are customarily mounted on a neighboring motorcycle. In sailing competition, cameras can be mounted on the top of the masts of competitors. The most difficult case for imaging is an air race or show where the competitors can very quickly move around in three dimensions, and are easily lost by the camera attendant. The technical problem to be solved in such an environemnt is to allow for capture of the best imagery with automatically guided cameras, without having to carry a camera attendant which in many sports cannot be carried in the competitor's immediate vicinity. The aim of the present invention is to solve this problem by the means as described in the characterizing part of claim 1. Various systems exist to monitor the position of moving bodies. Such systems are described e.g. in European Patent Applications No. 92303372.4 and 92303373.2. However, such systems are limited to the monitoring of the position of the bodies, and not of their orientation or attitude. The system according to the invention allows to replace the camera attendant by a highly efficient tracking system; in particular, it allows to automatically keep a selected target in the viewing frame of a camera. For this purpose, the targets continuously provide information on their position and attitude coordinates to the platform, via the communication means. The information on the position and attitude of the targets are processed by the information processing means of the platform, to be converted into platform coordinates and fed to the pointing systems of the cameras. Each target can be followed by a plurality of cameras on a platform, each camera having its own pointing system. All camera pointing systems use the information on the position of the particular target that has been allocated to them. This allows all candidates for the show to be constantly in view, ready for selection. In a first embodiment of the invention, the receiver station is on the platform and stores the video signals acquired by the cameras, either definitively, with e.g. classic 16 mm film technology, or erasably, with e.g. video tape technology. In a second embodiment of the invention, the receiver station is not located on the platform and its attendants can instantly modify the allocation of the cameras to the target. This allows for optimization of the allocation of the targets to the cameras. In a particular embodiment of the invention, each target can also serve as a platform, allowing the receiver station to select the most appropriate platform, and cameras on said platform, to generate the best views of the leading competitors for the show. In this embodiment, information on position and attitude of all the targets and platform are delivered by said targets and platforms to the information processing systems of the other targets and platforms via the communication means. The information on attitude of the target is not necessarily useful for the guidance of the allocated cameras, but it becomes important if the target is later selected as a platform, as well as for extrapolation purposes if the efficiency of the communication means is temporarily reduced. In a particular embodiment of the invention, if said receiver station, generally a ground station, is remote from the race, the means for transmitting the video signals can include one or more relay stations; said relay stations are equipped with antennas to convey the video signals from the platform's cameras. It should be noted that in the latter case, the relay stations also advantageously provide their coordinates to the information processing means, so that the antennas can be efficiently oriented towards each other to ensure optimal transmission quality. In a particular embodiment of the invention, the position and attitude data are acquired by global positioning systems, such as systems known under the name of NAVSTAR/GPS and GLONASS. Such systems are described e.g. in the European application No 92310832.8, or in UK Patent Application No 8827257. In a particular embodiment of the invention, the global positioning system of a platform, target or relay station, thereafter described by object, are supplemented by inertial navigation systems. These include for instance, for three sets of one accelerometer coupled with one gyroscope, each of these sets covering one of three Ox, Oy, Oz coordinate system of the object. Such inertial navigation systems are useful if, for instance, commmunication between the satellites and the global positioning systems of the object is made less efficient or interrupted by interposition of other objects, in particular if the competitors are piled up above each other. A typical cycle duration, for a global positioning system as practically used in the invention, being of one second, an interruption of transmission between the satellites and the object can last several seconds; with the input of inertial navigation systems as described above, the information processing means of the object can extrapolate from the last available position and attitude data of the object before the interruption took place, until a final correction is made when communication with the satellites is re-established. In a particular embodiment of the invention, the position of the target in platform coordinates is obtained by subtracting the platform's global position vector from the target's global position vector and projecting the resulting vector onto the platform coordinate system. Such data can be obtained in particular with the help of a differential global positioning system, or D-GPS, which will provide attitude data by triangulation. An example of such differential global positioning system is described in UK Patent Application No. 9004433.0. In a particular embodiment of the invention, the pointing systems of the cameras allow them to point to any direction. In a simplified environment where every object has a fixed assignment, and e.g. one platform can film one target, it is generally not necessary to acquire attitude data of the target, so that one global positioning system on the target will suffice for determination of the target's position; for the platform and any moving relay stations, on the contrary, attitude is important for the pointing of cameras and antennas. Thus the platform and each relay station will need one global positioning system for position and at least two additional global positioning system for attitude. The invention also concerns the use of the system in a live competition report. In particular, it can be noted that during selection of the best views, the platforms can be chosen as targets and vice versa. Additional examples of embodiments of the invention are described in the claims. The invention will now be illustrated in more detail by reference to the accompanying drawing, in which : - fig. 1 shows schematically two aircraft, a relay aircraft, three global positioning satellites, a video link ground station, and a communications link ground station; - fig. 2 shows schematically how the global positioning system (abbreviated in GPS) functions with the help of three satellites, and illustrates how this system can be used to perform attitude measurements; - fig. 3 shows the path of the video signals, illustrating how the camera platform aircraft films the target aircraft and the operation of the means for transmitting the video signals; - fig. 4 shows schematically the operation of the communication means, particularly how the three aircraft and the ground station communicate. Figure 1 shows two aircraft 4, 5 as viewed by a hypothetical viewer, supposedly aboard an auxiliary observing plane. Three global positioning satellites 1, 2, 3 are represented, although such systems generally comprise many more satellites. A relay aircraft 6 permits the aircraft 4 and 5 to transmit video signals to a ground based receiver 8. The relay aircraft 6 also relays communications between the aircraft 4, 5 and a ground based communication station 7. It is to be noted that any of the two aircraft 4, 5 can a priori be the target or the platform; the information processing means (not shown) are distributed between the aircraft 4, 5, 6, the communication station 7 and the receiver 8. Figure 2 shows how any one of the aircraft represented in figure 1, namely the two aircraft 4, 5 and the relay aircraft 6 have (at least) three GPS receivers 9, 10, 11 enabling the information processing means (not shown) to calculate the position of the aircraft and its attitude. It can be noted that a typical GPS provides a precision of the range of 30 to 100 meters; however, measurement of the variations in distances are much more accurate, in the range of the millimeter, because the error in the distance information provided by a given satellite is constant, and introduces a highly accomodable bias. The multiplicity of available satellites introduce additional measurement safety by way of redundancy. The information processing means, known in themselves e.g. from the previously cited patent documents, allow in particular to calculate the global position vector of all three receivers 9, 10, 11, and consequently the orientation of an aircraft-bound coordinate system, its Euler angles, and the variation of these data at every calculation cycle. Figure 3 shows how the video signals acquired by the camera 16 from the target 4 are first transmitted (in dotted lines) via the antennas 17, 18 from platform 5 to relay station 6, then, via antenna 19, to ground station 8 with a television monitor 20. The operation of such means for transmitting video signals includes precise pointing, not only of camera 16 to target 4 thanks to GPS 12 and 13, but also of antennas 17 and 18 to each other thanks to GPS 13 and 14, and in turn of antenna 19 and ground station 8 to each other, thanks to GPS 19 and 15. Such precise pointing is allowed by the information processing means (not shown) , fed by GPS data, that can convert any global position vector from earth coordinates to relative coordinates. For example, the global position vector of target 4 is a vector having its origin at the center of earth and its extremity at GPS 12; the global position vector of the platform 5 is a vector having its origin in the center of earth and its extremity at GPS 13. The information processing means allow to take into account the attitude of platform 5, as determined by the three GPS 9, 10, 11 (fig. 2) in order to correctly point camera 16 to target 4 , according to a vector having its origin at GPS 13 and its extremity at GPS 12. Figure 4 shows schematically how the three aircraft 4, 5, 6 and the ground station 7 may communicate using radio equipment with omni-directional antennas 21, 22, 23. Such antennas do not need to be pointed to one another to communicate, unlike antennas of the means for transmitting video signals. This has been shown schematically by doubles arrows on fig. 4. All the above entities of the examplified system may use the same frequency for broadcasting their global position vectors, the current satellite usage, camera control information, and other relevant data. To permit the use of one single frequency a wireless adaptation of the Carrier Sense Multiple Access with Collision Detection communications standard may be used (ANSI/IEEE Std 802.3-1985 and ISO/DIS 8802/3). Also shown is an ground control unit 24, where camera selection, target selection, and zoom control takes place. The information processing means of the ground control unit operate with the information processing means of the aircraft to coordinate activities and to distribute information processing tasks.

Claims: CLAIMS 1. A camera guidance system allowing to acquire video signals of at least one target, by means of at least one camera, and to transmit such video signals to a receiver station, characterized in that it comprises - a platform supporting said at least one camera, such camera being able to focus on the target, following its movement relative to the platform; - a plurality of information processing means, such as a position and attitude determination system, that are able to calculate the target's position and orientation in platform coordinates; - means for transmitting the video signals to a receiver station; - communication means between the said plurality of information processing means. 2. A system according to claim 1, in which the transmitting means convey video signals acquired by the cameras, either to a film or tape recording such signals, or to at least one receiver or relay station. 3. A system according to claim 2, characterized in that: - the allocation of a camera to a target can be modified, - the target can also serve as a platform and the platform as a target, - the global positions, relative positions, and attitude data of the target, the platform and the relay stations are acquired by global positioning systems, and - the relay stations are equipped with orientable directional antennas able to use the communication means and information processing means to point said antennas to other relay stations or to the receiver stations. 4. A system according to claim 3, in which the global positioning systems are supported by inertial navigation systems. 5. A system according to claim 1, in which the target and the platform are aircraft, and in which the camera on the platform can be positioned to point to any direction with respect to the coordinate system of the platform, and in which the position of the target in platform coordinates is obtained by subtracting the platform's global position vector from the target's global position vector and projecting the resulting vector onto the platform coordinate system. 6. A system according to claim 1, in which the platform and the target are vehicles. 7. A system according to claim 1, in which the platform is fixed, the targets being vehicles equipped with global positioning systems, and cameras with enhanced zoom capabilities being positioned around a motor race circuit so as to be able to fully use zoom factors with the help of the position of the cars as provided by their global positioning systems. 8. A system according to claim 1, in which the platform is an aircraft and the targets are ground vehicles. 9. A system according to claim 1, in which the platform carries two parallel TV cameras for stereoscopic vision, in particular for transmitting the video signals to virtual reality helmets worn by spectators. 10. Use of the system according to claim 1.

Inventors: OSEN KARL, OSEN, KARL
Applicants: OSEN KARL, OSEN, KARL
Application year: 1994
Main classification: G01S5
IPC codes: G01S5, H04N5, H04N7